People with communication needs and the Scottish social security system: fulfilling the expectations of ‘Our Charter’: SCoSS response to the Scottish Government

Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice
Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP

18 December 2025

By email only

Dear Cabinet Secretary

Thank you for your letter acknowledging our scrutiny report related to the experiences of people with communication needs using the Scottish social security system and the Scottish Government’s delivery of the commitments set out in the Social Security Charter. We welcome your acknowledgement of our recommendations and the work being undertaken by Social Security Scotland. I am writing to highlight two further areas of research which the Scottish Commission on Social Security intends to undertake, with support from externally commissioned researchers, in the New Year.

Following our own research and the findings from the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment (ADP), which emphasised the importance of redeterminations in correcting errors and providing accessible recourse for claimants, we intend to review ADP decision making. This will include consideration of redetermination processes and the use of Short-Term Assistance, as well as comparing the approach with similar mechanisms in other social security systems.

We have also commissioned research on the experiences of people for whom English is their second language and who have accessed Social Security Scotland’s services. This project will undertake a review of existing research on languages in Scotland and the type of communication barriers people experience including specific barriers to accessing certain types of benefits.

We have commissioned The Lines Between social research agency to undertake the initial research on our behalf and would welcome your officials support in helping them to find any existing sources of research and data that may be already available to support both research projects. I have also written to the Chief Executive of Social Security Scotland to highlight this request.

I hope this information is useful.

Yours sincerely

Ed Pybus
Chair
Scottish Commission on Social Security